This invention relates to an azole-substituted cycloalkanol derivative represented by the formula (I) which is available for an agricultural and horticultural fungicide, a process for producing the same and an agricultural and horticultural fungicide containing said derivative as an active ingredient: ##STR2## wherein R.sup.1 represents a lower alkyl group, R.sup.2 represents a hydrogen atom or a lower alkyl group, n is an integer of 1 or 2, and A represents a nitrogen atom or a CH group.
Heretofore, enormous research has been carried out on an azole derivative which is available for agriculture and horticulture and a large number of compounds showing specific biological activities have been found and provided for practical use. For example, Triadimefon and Propiconazole have been known as fungicides.
Among published patents, azole derivatives having a cyclohexane ring or a cycloheptane ring to which a benzyl group is bonded have been described. For example, these azole derivatives have been included in the following formula: ##STR3## and stereoisomers thereof, wherein W is CH or N; Q is optionally substituted aryl (especially optionally substituted phenyl), optionally substituted aralkyl, or alkyl; R.sup.1, R.sup.2, R.sup.3, R.sup.4, R.sup.5, R.sup.6, R.sup.7 and R.sup.8, which may be the same or different, are H, hydroxy, alkyl, cycloalkyl, optionally substituted aralkyl, or optionally substituted phenyl, or any pair thereof may, together with the adjacent carbon atom, represent a carbonyl group (C.dbd.O); R.sup.9 and R.sup.10, which may be the same or different, are H, alkyl, cycloalkyl, optionally substituted aralkyl, or optionally substituted phenyl, and n is 0 or 1; as disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,684,396 or EP-A-0 153 797.
Also, in Example 2 and Example 5 of GB Patent 2 153 355, the following compounds are exemplified: ##STR4##
Further, in EP-A-0 324 646, the compound having the following formula has been disclosed which is different from the present compound (I) in having no lower alkyl group on the cycloalkane ring: ##STR5## wherein n is an integer of 1 or 2 and A represents a nitrogen atom or a CH group.
The above compound is the most similar to the present compound (I) but the fact that the present compound (I) has superior effect to those of the compound disclosed in EP-A-0 324 646 is shown in Example 17 of the present specification.
The present inventors have synthesized many azole derivatives in order to develop an agricultural and horticultural fungicide which has low toxicity to human and domestic animals, high safety in handling and shows excellent fungicidal effect to various plant and crop damages, and investigated their practicability. And as the results, they have found that the azole-substituted cycloalkanol derivative represented by the above formula (I) shows the above characteristics to accomplish the present invention.